Dr Peter Dingle has a Bachelor of Education in Science, a Bachelor of Environmental Science with first class honours and a PhD. He conducts ongoing research into diet and nutrition, lifestyle and environmental impacts on health, well being and productivity.
To find out more got to www.drdingle.com

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Junk food increases depression

In the latest
study (Public Health Nutrition March 2012 15 : pp
424-432) consumers of fast food were 51% more likely to
develop depression compared to those who eat little or none. Even more convincing
the study found a dose-response relationship. That is, the more fast food you
consume, the greater the risk of depression. The study looked at the consumption of fast food (hamburgers, sausages,
pizza) and processed pastries (muffins, doughnuts, croissants) of 8,964 participants with
a median follow-up of 6·2 years. In
their normal conservative mode the scientists concluded that fast-food and
commercial baked goods consumption may have a detrimental effect on depression
risk. Not just fast food (take-aways), the study found
that even eating small quantities of commercial baked goods was linked to a
significantly higher chance of developing depression. In an earlier study by
the same authors they found a 42% increase in the risk associated with fast
food

Depression is a
serious and debilitating condition that can affect anyone. It is estimated that
around 35% of the population will develop mild to severe depression in their
lifetime. Australian Bureau of Statistic indicate that on average one in every
five females and one in eight males will experience depression during their
lifetime. Moreover, there are around one million of Australian adults and
160000 adolescents who live with depression each year.

Adding to the weight of this study a large number of studies have shown
that particular components of the diet such as n-3 fatty acids and B-vitamins as well certain minerals supplements,
can decrease the rate of depression.

Many studies have shown Omega-3 fatty acids to significantly reduce
depression levels. Countries where there is large fish consumption among the
people tend to have a lower rate of depression than societies where fish is not
a prominent staple in the diet. Western countries with a low to moderate per
capita fish intake of 11-32kg had an annual prevalence of depression in the
range of 3-6%. Countries such as
Japan who have a high per capita fish consumption of 68kg had a depression rate
of 0.12%. The more omega-3s in your blood, the more serotonin you are likely to
make and the more responsive you become to its effects. It also reduces your
risk of heart attack, storke and so many other chronic illnesses.

The research consistently shows that people with either low blood
levels of the B-vitamins especially folic acid are more likely to be depressed.
In a study of hospitalised older people participants who received a normal
hospital diet plus multivitamin and mineral supplements for six weeks found lower
levels of depression regardless of the initial level of depression of the
individual. The authors wrote, “Many epidemiological and case-control studies
have shown associations between folate and vitamin B12 deficiency and
depression. In a study of 3,500 over-65-year-olds in Chicago over an average of
7.2 years of follow-up, the researchers noted that increased intakes of
vitamins from food and supplements B6 and B12 were associated with a ‘decreased
likelihood of incident depression.’ For every 10-milligram increase in the
intake of vitamin B6 and for every 10-microgram increase in vitamin B12,
the risk of developing symptoms of depression
was decreased by two percent per year.

A number of studies have found lower levels of zinc and chromium in
depressed patients. In one study seven out of the ten depressed patients taking chromium
showed a big improvement, versus none on the placebo. A larger study of 113
patients found that after eight weeks 65% of those on chromium had had a major
improvement, compared to 33% on placebos

Unfortunately most
processed foods are low in nutrients including omega 3 fatty acids, B vitamins
and the minerals like zinc and chromium.